Kolob Canyon
We decided that we'd done all but one hike in Zion Canyon and that it was just too grueling so we opted to head to Kolob Canyon to do a hike there before moving on to Bryce Canyon. We got up early, broke camp, and drove out of Zion Canyon. We headed back to I-15 briefly then into the Kolob Canyons Visitors Center. We briefly stopped then drove to the Taylor Creek trailhead, donned hiking boots, and headed up the trail.
This trail followed Taylor Creek, crossed the creek dozens of times and passed several old cabins on the way in. I kept seeing small animal tracks in the sand and said "wouldn't it be cool to see some cougar tracks" and sure enough we came upon them close to the end of the trail. They had to be fresh from the previous night or that morning since rain the day before would have wiped them out. We continued to Double Arch Alcove where we stopped for a short break and the rain started. We hiked out in gore-tex and by the time we arrived back to the van it was raining pretty hard and we were back on the road.
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| Taylor Creek Trail | Fresh Mountain Lion tracks in the sand |
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Double Arch Alcove, looking up |
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We drove to Cedar City and re-stocked our food supply as needed before heading out to Cedar Breaks National Monument. The rain just kept increasing as we ascended up to about 9000 feet into the clouds. At Cedar Breaks it was pouring so we sat in the van and had lunch then took a quick look at the canyon from under our rain hoods. We drove on through Red Rocks Canyon which looked like a miniature version of Bryce with red hoodoos everywhere in a small area.
Finally we arrived at Bryce Canyon Natl. Park, set up camp and headed out to the canyon rim for a quick look-see before dinner. After dinner we walked back to the rim amid storm clouds brewing to walk from Sunset Point up to Inspiration Point. The rain just started at Inspiration Point and lacking rain gear (we were hopeful), we caught the park shuttle back to camp.
On the Rim Trail - Bryce Canyon
It then cleared up in the evening and the star gazing was simply perfect that evening.
On to Day 6...
...Back to Day 4
